RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – FEMA continues to support the state of North Carolina as it leads community cleanup and restores infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storm Helene.

In August alone, FEMA has obligated an additional $96 million for more than 200 state and local recovery projects. This funding helps cover items like road repairs, critical infrastructure restoration, debris removal and other emergency actions taken to protect life and property following the storm.

Here are some of the large FEMA grants obligated to the state and communities:

$65.2 million to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for road repairs in Buncombe, McDowell, Mitchell, Wilkes and Yancey counties.$5.9 million to the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for repairs to Chimney Rock State Park’s roads, bridge and café.$5.8 million to the town of Beech Mountain for repairs to washed out portions of Buckeye Creak Road and Charter Hill Road.$2.4 million to the EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corporation for emergency measures taken to protect and repair the electrical power distribution system.$1.5 million to the Asheville Christian Academy for remediation to three school buildings flooded by Swannanoa River overflow.$1.4 million to the town of Old Fort for permanent repairs to damaged public facilities.$1 million for Haywood County to remove more than 1.3 million cubic yards of debris between Oct. 1, 2024 and March 24, 2025.

FEMA is reimbursing these costs at no less

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RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced two new Dear Colleague Letters (DCL) and one program solicitation that implement key elements of the Trump administration’s executive order, “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth.” The new opportunities will take decisive steps to expand resources for K-12 AI education, enhance teacher training and harness AI tools and services to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning.

“For decades, NSF has invested in research projects designed to transform STEM teaching and learning to meet emerging needs like AI. Integrating AI into education systems helps to prepare both young and adult learners to contribute to an AI-driven society,” said NSF Assistant Director for STEM Education James L. Moore III. “With these new funding mechanisms, NSF will fast-track its efforts to provide early exposure to AI, scale AI curricula, expand services that support the use of AI in education, advance teacher professional development and improve knowledge sharing in AI education to help sustain the nation’s leadership in technological innovation.”

Dear Colleague Letters

The Expanding K-12 Resources for AI Education DCL seeks to build upon NSF’s extensive investments in fundamental research, technology transition and education related to the science and application of AI. Existing awardees with K-12 AI or computer science education experience are invited to submit supplemental funding proposals to refine, scale, and/or implement established K-12 AI-related activities.

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RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a partnership with NVIDIA to develop a set of artificial intelligence models that will transform the ability of America’s scientists to leverage AI, advancing scientific discovery and ensuring U.S. leadership in AI-powered research and innovation. NSF will contribute $75 million, with NVIDIA providing an additional $77 million, to support the Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science (OMAI) project, led by the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2). The collaboration will create a fully open suite of advanced AI models specifically designed to support the U.S. scientific community.

This public-private investment advances priorities set forth in the White House AI Action Plan to accelerate AI-enabled science and ensure the United States is producing the leading open models that enhance America’s global AI dominance.

“Bringing AI into scientific research has been a game changer,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “NSF is proud to partner with NVIDIA to equip America’s scientists with the tools to accelerate breakthroughs. These investments are not just about enabling innovation; they are about securing U.S. global leadership in science and technology and tackling challenges once thought impossible.”

The development of AI technologies is advancing rapidly, but the cost of creating and researching powerful AI models has grown beyond the budgets of university labs and federally funded researchers. This growing divide limits the

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RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

A workforce fluent in AI techniques will be essential to ensure U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence continues. Jeremy Waisome, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, discusses the Shark AI project, which has introduced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to thousands of middle school students.

Listen to NSF Discovery Files wherever you get your podcasts.

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